He knocks the door. The person he still wants to see is Kyuri.
"Not home?" He sighs. Only her mother is at home. Little Hae went out with her grandfather.
"Young Hwa, stay. She will come back soon," Her mother tells him.
He should wait, but he feels restless. He goes to her room and lays down on her bed, thinking. It's hurting his head. He closes his eyes and takes long breaths to calm down, still thinking about Yeon Seo.
He opens his eyes when he hears the sound of the door opening. Kyuri walks in. Seeing her clears away all the uncertainties in his mind. He smiles at her. "Welcome home."
She gives him a quiet nod. "I was going to call you after coming home. You are already here."
She didn't call him after he left yesterday. He wants to tell her about Jae Kyung's mother, but he ends up asking her, "Wife, did you think about what I said yesterday?"
"I did." Something about her eyes is disturbing him. She sits beside him. "I can't agree.
"Kyuri." His ċhėst feels tight to hear those words. Her voice is unwavering, unlike his heart. "Why can't you?"
"It's impossible to force love." She stares at him with a smile. "Do you still not understand the meaning? I am not least bothered about Yeon Seo and you. You are also trying hard to love me. Young Hwa, I thought a lot. That day, you wanted to find a reason to live. You made me and Little Hae your reason. Yeon Seo was gone and someone else needed to be there. We like each other, but we are still forcing ourselves to love each other. If it was not like that, would you feel pain when you saw Yeon Seo in the mall that day?"
"I already told you. It was just..." Young Hwa tries to defend himself. There was nothing.
"Can you really say for 100% that you don't feel anything for Yeon Seo?"
Hearing her question, Young Hwa becomes quiet. If Yeon Seo had plotted with Jae Kyung, there was still a reason to hate that woman. If she had left him for selfish reasons, he could still forget everything.
After a long silence, Kyuri sighs and looks up at the ceiling. "I am not 100% sure that I don't feel anything for him."
Young Hwa has known that. Just like a corner of his heart belonged to Yeon Seo, a corner of Kyuri's heart would always belong to Kang Si An. That's why... It was wrong from the beginning.
"We have been lying to ourselves." She wraps her arms around her knees. "I realized that I was lying to myself because of you. You and I were both in pain. I thought that I could love you. There's nothing to dislike about you. Little Hae also loves you. When you said that it was okay to be in a loveless marriage, I was thinking of accepting it. But, Young Hwa, a man like you don't deserve that. If you still have a chance at love, I want you to grab it. What can still be saved, can be saved. About you and Yeon Seo, the hope is not gone."
Living for so long... she understands a few things. Seeing Yeon Seo the day they registered their marriage, Young Hwa and Yeon Seo spending the night together two days before the wedding, Jae Kyung's death a day before the wedding... She gets it. She's been told by whatever rules this world that Young Hwa and she do not belong with each other. She might have met Young Hwa that day to give him hope. That's her role alone. It's done. She has kept him safe until Yeon Seo's return. Now, Young Hwa can build the happiness that he supposed to build with the woman he truly loves.
Even if she's not time-traveling and changing fates, her presence in the world is still being used.
Young Hwa rests his forehead on her shoulder.
"I will still be your ex-wife. Little Hae will be the daughter of your ex-wife. You can still be her dad." She pats his head. "Even if we didn't get married, you will still be her dad."
"You are already calling yourself my ex-wife." He smiles at her mournfully. "You have made up your mind to leave me."
"I am still here," She says to him softly. "About Jae Kyung, I will resolve it. Don't worry."
"You won't take my help either." He can feel her distancing herself from him. There's nothing that can save it. He has no doubt that she can resolve the matter by herself. Kyuri doesn't need anyone. She never has.
"Will you go back to him then?"
Kyuri shakes her head. She only accepted the truth. It doesn't mean that she would go back to him. She's happy with Little Hae. "It can't be saved. It was already broken long ago."
Perhaps, it was broken from the start.